New Villain for DC’s New 52

Right, so we have already had several new villains since the big DC Comics relaunch. The Court of Owls is soon to be all over the place in the Batman franchise. There's Invictus and his mobile solar system in Green Lantern: New Guardians. Static Shock was arguably overburdened with new villains. Aquaman had the creatures from the Trench. The Rot is the focus of the crossover between Animal Man and Swamp Thing. N.O.W.H.E.R.E., Brainstorm, the Untitled, Mother Machine, Mirror, Massacre...

...Yeah. There hasn't exactly been any shortage of new villains in the New 52. But this newest new one is something special.

Or at least, that seems to be what DC is trying to tell us by releasing this Jim Lee sketch of the character's design.

No name has been given for the character, but it is said that he will be the focus of the upcoming Villain's Journey story arc beginning with Justice League #9. It is also said that the latest issue serves as a prologue for this villain's big debut.

That doesn't give much to go on for speculation purposes. At first glance, he looks quite a bit like a White Martian. That's hardly new, though. This is also a Justice League that has effectively excluded Martian Manhunter, so it would be strange to bring in a major White Martian villain in. Issue #7 drops in a reference to the Orb of Ra, which gave Metamorpho his powers. Could that be relevant? The design doesn't quite scream "Element Man" to me despite the chalk white skin. And what is with the faces in the forearms? I have no idea. Wonder Twin Powers -- go horribly wrong?

So just a sketch isn't much to get excited about. I would say Geoff Johns has a good track record with new characters, especially when it comes to villains. That alone is enough to get a little interested in what this new villain is all about.